PS4 ‘Blue Light Of Death’ Fail Addressed By Sony

Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) (TYO:6758) addressed concerns of PS4 owners today after reports emerged that a significant number of its launch consoles were faulty. The company has released a manual to help people combat the major problems that cause the dreaded flashing blue light, known as the “Blue Light of Death,” or BLOD. The light is associated with a console that acts as little but a paper weight.

The Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) (TYO:6758) PS4 Blue Light of Death guide is not, unfortunately, all that specific, and it does not offer solutions to many of the problems that can cause the issue. The light can mean the PS4 unit in question is suffering from any number of problems including issues with the power supply, hard drive, or even the television a user chooses to connect the unit to.

Blue Light of Death has no easy fix

Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) (TYO:6758) says that about 0.4% of the consoles it put on sale last Friday are affected by the Blue Light Of Death problem. There is no easy fix for the issue, but Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) (TYO:6758) has some ideas about how users should approach the problem.

According to the company PS4 owners should ensure their console is connected properly to their television, they should check that the hard drive is properly connected and they should power the device down fully and attempt to start it again. If none of these fixes work, the problem may be a hardware issue that users will not be able to fix.

PS4 Blue Light of Death

The Blue Light of Death problem with the PS4 became a worry after many of the reviewers who got their hands on the console reported hardware problems. A number of tech journalists who were given early access to the PS4 received a unit that would not start, and flashed an ominous blue light when it was asked to do anything. Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) (TYO:6758) is sticking to the line that this is to be expected with the release of any new hardware, but the number of reports is worrying.

Hardware releases are prone to bugs, and games consoles are no different. When there is a good deal of conversation about the release, as there is with the PS4, the extent of problems can get amplified. A perfect example of this phenomenon was the release of the iPhone 4 and the antennae problem. Most users noticed little wrong with the device, but it was reported on daily from a thousand different angles.